November/December Newsletter

Christmas is Coming!

The Town Team & BID
has organised or funded a range of projects to help boost footfall this Christmas

· Christmas Light Switch On -15TH NOVEMBER

· East Street Christmas Market - 29TH NOVEMBER, 10AM - 3PM

· Musicians On The Run - 29TH NOVEMBER, 3PM - 7PM

· North Street Christmas Celebration - 5TH DECEMBER

· Winter Lantern Parade - 6TH DECEMBER, 4.30PM

For the Lantern Parade we are encouraging all businesses on North Street and
Upper East Street to take advantage of the huge number of people following the
trail by hosting a mini activity on their pavement whether it be seasonal
decoration, extra merchandising, or product sampling etc – its an opportunity
to engage customers.

We are particularly excited about our
first ’20
Bedminster’ Event. If this first
one goes well we will aim to do one a quarter covering comedians, magicians
etc…

Waste Services

If you haven’t signed up
already we hope you will consider the highly preferential and beneficial
arrangement we have organised with SITA.

Benefits

·Six days a week
collection service, including Saturdays

·Reduced recycling
and waste management costs

·Timed collections
for your recycling and waste

·Dedicated
customer helpdesk

·Free
‘seagull-proof’ sacks

·Smarter street
environment for shoppers

·Available to all
businesses in Bedminster

·Additional
discounts for all when we collectively have 100 businesses

Contact SITA for a free,
no obligation quote and or meeting with our dedicated Bedminster support, Christine
Webb on 0845 600 2836 or email bedminster@sita.co.uk.

Other News

St Mary Redcliffe Christmas Tree Fest December 9-13 Are organizing an exciting and unusual event in the form of a Treefest at St Mary Redcliffe Church, which will raise money for charity (including the High Sheriff of Bristol's charity) and give the businesses and organizations of Bristol an opportunity to showcase themselves and their contribution to the city of Bristol. More at www.treefest.org.uk.

YourSTreet YourStreet continue to grow their gift card scheme for independent retailers developed. Independent traders now have an opportunity to be a part of a UK £5billion industry! The card offers an economic lift to high streets and a morale boost to independent retailers and services, as well as offering a vast choice and variety to the cardholder. Our aim is to bring back footfall to the high street to sustain the long term future of the high street and all its independent retailers and services. Call 07877 994 290 or take a look on www.yourstreetgiftcards.com.

Town Team & BID Board Minutes

The last meeting of the
Board was organising and confirming most of the above. For detailed minutes
please see bedminstertownteam.org.

Aims
for the Forthcoming Year

Outside of Christmas
events and projects set out above the remaining top 20 priorities for us this
year are:

1.Shaun the Sheep – sponsor a sheep

2.Hanging baskets - £40per basket – support up to max
100 fairly distributed across the BID

3.Events and Markets Manager

4.Plaster Marketing, PR and Website Support etc

5.Upfest Annual Event 2015 – one of the largest events
in S Bristol with c25,000 now attending. Cost to host is £60k in total. Agreed
that one large artwork will be completed on East St to test whether shoppers
are interested in this as a way of improving East Streets attractiveness

6.Skills Week – repeat and grow last year’s event – in
particular around evening economy ideas (eg small music and dance events in
which audience encouraged to take part more; and/or break outs how to learn a
musical instrument ?

8.Show of Strength – Let’s Do it in the Street – ie a repeat of last year’s successful run
(more days of shows, two different 45 minute walks each day)

9.Shop Loyalty Card – simple loyalty card scheme copying
ideas of a proven scheme (Penarth) in which c1500 cards are printed and sold at
£1 each to est 50 businesses for resale to customers; also 5x £10 vouchers to
be won each month for ‘fist to use their card’

10.Metal sculptures to be made for outside of the shops
that would represent what they sold so for example- the butcher might have a
cow head, AV might have a gramophone

Note: The BID (Business Improvement District) and Town Team
are the same organisation. The BID is the funding arm for Town Team activities,
generated via a small levy on all eligible businesses in the area (equivalent
to 1.5% of rateable value) and paid into a central ‘kitty’ to be spent on
projects that benefit Bedminster businesses.